


Singularity

by captainronnie



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Barduil Secret Santa, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 14:08:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8920117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainronnie/pseuds/captainronnie
Summary: Bard has spent his life in space, searching for a higher meaning or purpose beyond the provincial life in which he grew up. Upon meeting with the greasy leader of his home town, he learns of the being called 'the Singularity'. A small space adventure leads him to meet this mythical entity, to which the two realise their fate was written in the stars.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magicalmagic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicalmagic/gifts).



> This is my second ever Barduil fic, and I'm really excited for it! I loved the idea of a Space AU, but I didn't want to make it an AU of an existing canon [like Star Wars or Star Trek]. I spent too much time on my last fic worrying about accuracy to canon, so I made this idea instead! [the name 'Singularity' and description are inspired by Marvel's character of the same name, but their stories are v different.]
> 
> This ended up being a bit shorter than I imagined, and if you want more feel free to ask!! I have a lot more ideas for this, but this was as far as I planned for this specific fic. I hope you like it!!

“ _ Come find me. _ ”

 

Bard woke up to an unfamiliar voice whispering those words in his ears. The voice was soft, but it echoed through his mind, and shook him up. However, after being awake for more than five minutes, he brushed it off. It was just a weird dream, is all. He had been having strange dreams a lot more lately, and he thought maybe he needed to stop somewhere soon. Fortunately, he was heading back to the only place he thought of as ‘home’.

Bard stared out the window of his ship. All the white dots billions of miles away were burning brightly against the black vastness of space. He lived for space - he made his life there. Even travelling alone in his small spacecraft he thought would get too lonely one day. When he would stop and trade with his regular customers, they often asked when he might settle down and find himself a wife. He simply smiled, made his trades, and went back on his way. He had an interest in starting a family, but it would have to be with someone who shared the same love for adventure and never staying in the same place.

The universe was always moving, ever expanding; he needed someone who could feel the pull of the void and jump in with him. Bard had yet to find this person. Though choosing to be alone most of the time made it difficult for him to find  _ anyone _ , really. Not that he was looking too hard…

A little brown and grey speck in the distance could be seen as he sped through space. As he approached the tiny rock, he could see all the mountains and rivers, lakes and forests that covered the globe. He felt an ache in his chest as he slowed and prepared for landing. He really didn’t want to be there.

This particular planet was the one he grew up on, in a place called Laketown. It was seated on a lake, next to an old city that fell during the last great war. A man named ‘The Master’ ran the town - he was a slimy man, who only cared about money and forced everyone into poverty. If his curiosity didn’t outweigh his morals, he would have refused the Master’s summon, but he spoke of an ‘adventure’. He at least wanted to hear him out and decide.

The engine of the ship cooled in the port of a small shuttle hub. Bard opened the hatch and went down the small ladder to the ground. A couple of complimentary service droids came up and began patching the exterior - sealing seams, ensuring the ship was in good condition. It was definitely an older spacecraft, but it flew true and hardly gave him problems. He left the droids to work while he went to meet with his new client.

Bard took a shuttle ride from the spaceport across the lake towards Laketown. It was foggy as they crossed the lake. Surrounding the water were vibrant green trees with snow capped mountains, but the town on the lake was dreary and pale. The Master was truly running the place into the ground [or into the water, perhaps], and he truly felt guilty. Not for leaving everyone he grew up with behind, but all things considered, he was successful. He never had to worry when his next meal would be; he couldn’t say the same for anyone he was going to see that day.

The shuttle was stopped at the front gate, where he would ultimately need to be escorted to his destination. The craft opened up and standing on the dock was a greasy man, whom he remembered to be Alfrid.

“Long time no see, Bard.”

He carefully stepped out of the shuttle and onto the wooden dock. “Alfrid.”

Bard leaned back in and paid the driver, tipping as well as he could. During that time, Alfrid was sizing him up. “The Master’s been looking for the right man to go on this journey for ‘im. Not really sure you’re the type.”

“I don’t really think that’s for you to decide.” He still had no idea what the mission was. For all he knew, he was right. “Just take me to the Master.”

A few grumbles later, and the two were headed through the town. He hoped that they would be taking some back roads, but the way that Alfrid was strutting about, he seemed like he was showing off. The last time he was in town was a few years before, so he was easily recognizable. As the two walked, he could see people stopping and whispering. His face felt hot and embarrassed. For a moment, he thought this may be a setup - but he didn’t know for what. He kept his head forward and down as best he could.

Something glittery caught his eye on the end of the docks. He glanced over, and thought he saw a person there, and did a double take. Looking properly, there was nothing there, just a shimmer in the mist over the lake.

They went up the steps to the Master’s house, which was attached to the only government building. The exterior was deep red brick, with high arched windows surrounded by black wood. There were lamps on the porch that were brighter than any other street post he had seen so far. Of course, it wasn’t adorned with high-tech gadgets and full, upscale modern adornments that he saw on other planets. No, this was far simpler than that. Compared to the rest of the town, this was a beacon of sophistication. If only the man inside was as well kept as his home.

He was led to a large dining room, covered in red and gold furniture. It was rather gaudy, and very expensive-looking. He imagined one chair was worth more than someone’s entire yearly salary. However, the most repulsive thing in the room was, in fact, the Master himself. His long, wiry hair looked like it was dripping with oil. It sat straight and flat around the poofy collar of his spotted fur coat, which he no doubt had specially made for his large size. On the table, there was enough food for twenty people to feast, but there were only three people in the room.

“Ah, Bard! Welcome, welcome. It has been a long time, sir. Please, sit down.”

Bard hesitated, trying to decide which chair would be best. He would have gone with the end, but there was a large cooked bird that would have blocked his entire view of the Master [normally he would have preferred that, but it felt rude]. He settled for a center chair on the left of the table.

“So,” Bard began, “To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting with you?”

“Jumping right into business, eh? You know, I always liked that about you. No small talk,” The Master laughed as he filled his plate with food. “Alright. Alfrid, leave us, will you?”

“As you wish, sire.” Bard could hear his exasperated tone, and the heavy steps out of the room.

The Master ate while he described the mission, and if he wasn’t, Bard would have been much more enamored by the description.

The was a being somewhere out in the gulf of space, made entirely of stars. He called it the ‘Singularity’, because it was so dense, the theory was that it was an entirely new universe within. It travelled throughout the galaxy, causing minor disturbances in the atmospheres of planets as it passes through. He also mentioned that its home was possibly located inside a nebula at the far end of the galaxy. Bard wasn’t a man of science, but he knew jargon here and there. Actually, he was certain that the Master wasn’t a scientist either.

“What is it you would like me to do?”

“I want you to capture it, of course,” He said, with some food spraying from his mouth. “Bring it back to me, and I will give you a...finder’s fee.”

His stomach turned. The Master was a greedy man. He never offered more than a few pieces of gold for something that would earn him hundreds. Suddenly it made sense why he sent for him - Bard was the kind of trader who enjoyed the adventure over the reward. But his concern wasn’t whether or not he would get his ‘fair share’ - the Master undoubtedly had a plan for this. He wasn’t a scientist, but there were people in the universe who would pay a very high price for this being. This would potentially make him the wealthiest man on the planet, save for the Dwarven colony nearby...meanwhile the town would still be suffering.

Bard was quiet. Finding this ‘singularity’ would be a remarkable discovery, and he figured the challenge of finding it would be well worth his time. However, finding it for the sole purpose of capturing it to give to a greasy man with ill intent was not. Nothing was actually stopping him from finding the being on his own.

“So, what say you?”

“No.”

“No?” The Master repeated back.

Bard stood saying, “I won’t bring you an entity we don’t even know exists, just for your own personal gain.”

“But this is the adventure of a lifetime! You live for this sort of thing.”

“I never said I wasn’t going to find it, I just won’t find it for you.”

The Master stopped for a moment, then laughed under his breath. “Very well. Alfrid!”

Within seconds, his assistant appeared in the doorway. “Yes, sire?”

“Escort Bard out of town. Let the guards know he won’t be welcomed back.”

With a wry smile, Alfrid replied, “With pleasure, sir.”

 

\-- --

 

Bard felt guilty again. Not for saying no, or for saying that he was going anyway. He always had a rocky relationship with his home, but he always felt bad for leaving. He wondered what his life would be like if he had stayed and settled down instead of running off to the stars...living in a tiny home above a cold lake. Becoming a fisherman, as that was their only real export. Getting married, having kids…

But he couldn’t deny the call. He had the means to leave and he did, because he couldn’t stay away from space. No matter how much guilt he had, the pull was too intense.

The droids were finished with the minor repairs by the time he returned to the spaceport. They sealed a few seams and got all the space bug guts off the front window of his ship. He thanked them for their service and climbed inside.

He sat in his seat for a moment, looking up into the atmosphere. The sun was too bright, but he knew that the black that lay beyond was waiting for him. He turned on his engine, and when he had the signal it was clear, he began the launching sequence. Within seconds, he took off and the blue and grey planet beneath him vanished.

_ The nebula is on the other side of the galaxy. That’s where it’ll be...the singularity. _

The map on his ship was pretty short range, so he had to get closer before he would be able to see where the nebula was located. He set some coordinates for one of the furthest planets he could recall, and hoped that would be close enough to start tracking the nebula.

 

\-- --

 

It took a week to get to the opposite end of the galaxy. He stopped on the planet to resupply, as his food and water were running low. While he was there, he asked around if anyone knew about the nebula and he learned two things:

  1. It was within a day’s flight, if he used his highest setting.
  2. Anyone who attempted to cross into the nebula were instantly destroyed.



Some good news and some very concerning news. He wondered if the Master knew that the nebula was impossible to pass into. Despite everyone’s urges to stay away, he still wanted to see it for himself. That way he could at least have the knowledge that he found the supposed home of the Singularity.

Before long, he was off again, using the coordinates given to him by someone at the spaceport. He had it on autopilot, though knowing nebulas, there would eventually be some electrical disturbances. He would have to be in manual when approaching it.

Almost twelve hours later, he was alerted that he had passed out of the galaxy. At this same moment, he was alerted auto pilot shut down due to electrical interference. He went back to the cockpit and pressed a few buttons, turning the ship to manual mode. He had been resting most of the time, so he wasn’t paying attention to what was going on outside of his ship.

Before him in the distance was a cloud that swelled as he approached it. There were jets of white lightning coming from within. The nebula itself was small compared to ones he had heard about in other parts of the universe. He had only ever been outside of the galaxy once...and he couldn’t really remember what happened. He just remembered waking up with his ship, back near his homeworld.

The pull he had been feeling his whole life was at its strongest as he stared at the giant nebula. He knew it was intensifying as he got closer to the nebula, but he thought it was just anticipation boiling up inside him. Now that he was sitting right before the giant cloud, he knew that the feeling was distinctly different.

“ _ Come to me. _ ”

A voice - the same voice he heard before - was calling out to him again. Only now, the sound was all around him instead of just in his head.

Despite the warnings of the townsfolk, he moved the ship forward into the base of the nebula. Where normally his ship would spark and sizzle from the electricity, the cloud was calm. There were still bolts of lightning crashing above him, but none would dip down far enough to him. He only flew for a few minutes before a force stopped him in his tracks. The immediate halt caused him to hit his head on one of the overhead panels and for a second he blacked out.

When his eyes opened, he was on an invisible platform in what looked like a fish bowl. There were stars around him, but instead of the blackened void, this space was a deep, shining blue. A violet mist was floating in front of him, shimmering brighter than everything else around him. The mist  lowered itself to the ground, condensing itself into a humanoid figure. The shape was of a man, and he wasn’t sure if that was to make Bard feel comfortable, or if this was the form it preferred.

“Are you...the Singularity?” The entity had very pale blue eyes that squinted as Bard spoke. “Do you speak?”

“Yes,” it said. It was the same voice he had heard in his head. “I go by many names...singularity is one of them. And you are Bard.”

Bard stared in awe at the being. He was entranced by its form and how it presented itself. The being gave itself what looked like long, flowing hair. The pull was coming directly from in front of him, and it took all his strength not to move forward.

“You are the one who has been calling out to me.”

“Yes. I’m glad you were finally able to hear me.”

“Finally?”

It nodded. “I could feel the very minute you were born. I had felt your presence when you entered this universe...and it’s something I have never felt before.” It stepped forward, and Bard did as well, like it was a magnet.

They were standing close now, only a foot apart. Bard could feel an ethereal warmth coming from the entity, and he fidgeted with his shirt to keep himself from reaching out. He wanted to know what he felt like - if he would be smooth, like a bubble, or if his hand would pass through like smoke.

“Have you always been watching over me?” Bard asked.

“Yes. Not physically...but I always know when you’re near.”  _ The pull _ . “Your presence is stronger when you’re close by.”

“Were you there on the dock when I was in Laketown?” Bard asked. He felt like he was asking too many questions, but he wasn’t sure how else to understand what was happening. “Why have you waited until now to meet me?”

“This isn’t the first time we have met,” It replied. Bard’s head tilted in confusion. “There has only been one instance where I couldn’t feel your pull...the first time you exited the galaxy. I found your ship damaged and you were unconscious in an asteroid belt. I brought you back...fixed your ship. When you were well again, you continued on adventuring.”

Bard remembered only part of that. He was asked to retrieve a gemstone from a planet just outside of the asteroid belt. He remembered leaving the galaxy, but not any of the other events surrounding it. In the belt, he was probably hit. He wished he remembered meeting this being, but he did feel safe when he woke up.

“I wish I could remember,” He breathed. “You’re…you are what I’ve been searching for.”

“What do you mean?” It asked, after a pause.

Bard reached up and lightly touched the Singularity. It was warm where the stars glowed, and cool on the violet skin. It felt like a person, though much more dense. “I didn’t leave Middle Earth to be in space. I left because of this...pull. I thought it was a simple desire to be among the stars, but it was emanating from you. Everything in my life has been guiding me straight to you.”

The being stared at his hand on its skin. It stood in silence, as if processing what was happening. With a quiet voice, it spoke: “I thought by meeting you, this feeling would subside. This…’pull’ you spoke of. I don’t normally interact with humans, but maybe this is the universe telling me I should. All I’ve known is the cold, vastness of space. Your hand is warm, like the stars.”

“ _ Come with me _ ,” Bard said. “I want to learn so much more about you.”

“And I you.”

“Then come with. Please. I don’t -- I don’t want to be alone.”

The Singularity looked up at Bard once more. His eyes intensified as he said, “You have never been alone. I have always been with you. Watching over you, guiding you...and in a way, you have done the same for me.”

 

\-- --

 

It didn’t take much more convincing before the Singularity joined Bard. While in its dense form, he was able to fit on the ship and it didn’t take any effort to be in one form or the other. Bard was fascinated by how it moved and its thought process, how it rationalized different scenarios. The being was possibly as old as the universe - it wasn’t entirely sure. It remembered the oblivion before time began, and Bard knew it would likely live long enough to see it fall back into darkness. He thought that might put it off to wanting to be around a mortal man with limited time in existence, but the entity was equally intrigued by humanity.

They were about a month into travelling, and Bard laid on his bed, dozing off. The Singularity sat nearby, watching over him.

“What is sleeping like for humans?”

“Hm?”

“I am unaffected by time. I can rest for what you call a century and be just as rested if I took a second.”

“Oh...er…” Bard tried sitting up, but he was far too tired. He slumped back into the same position as before and sleepily pieced words together. “It’s...difficult to say. Humans, on average, need eight hours of sleep. I can be exhausted and close my eyes and suddenly it’s the next day. Other times I may wake up every hour but somehow be more rested than when I sleep through the entire night.” Or, what he perceived as night. In space, the days and nights ran together.

The being squinted, again trying to understand. “Would you be more comfortable if we rested at the same time?”

Bard lazily shrugged. “That’s up to you. I don’t mind if you wander about while I’m asleep.”

Without a word, it stood up and walked over to his bed. It climbed into the bed against the wall, clinging tightly to Bard [who was blushing].

“You’re warmer. Should I leave?”

“No...no. This is...good.” He settled down further under his covers. He wasn’t prepared for the coolness, but it wasn’t unwelcome. It felt nice on his back. He felt the Singularity’s arm wrap lightly around him.

The change in temperature woke him up a little, but only enough to better collect his thoughts.

“I’ve been thinking...you say you go by many names, yes?”

“Yes.”

“What if you had a permanent name. Calling you a singularity...feels impersonal to me.”

The being didn’t reply immediately, but instead wrapped its arm tighter around him. “What would you like to call me?”

Bard moved his arm so his hand was clasped over the entity’s. “I was thinking ‘Thranduil’. It’s a name from one of the races on my homeworld, it means ‘vigorous spring’. You seem to like warmth, spring is warm…”

“Thranduil…” It repeated.

“Do you like it?” Bard asked, turning his head over his shoulder.

Thranduil smiled. “Yes. I do.”


End file.
